406 BENEDICT: REVISION OF THE GENUS VITTARIA 
Rhizome erect, I-2 cm. long, unbranched or branching to form 
a close cluster of shoots, each radially symmetrical, the scales 6—10- 
costate at the base, the median costa much thickened in the upper 
portion of the scale. Leaves pendent, I-5 to each shoot, 40-70 
cm. long, the petiole 5-15 cm. long, atropurpureous, hard, partly 
hollow, flattenedto the base, becoming 2-angled toward the lamina, 
the scales very narrow and elongate, I1—4-costate, the lamina linear, 
parallel-sided through most of its length, 4-10 mm. broad, nar- 
rowed gradually above and below, the dorsal surface plane or 
nearly so, the ventral surface with a broad low median ridge, the 
margins usually thin and sharp, often reflexed in old leaves, the 
leaf-trace single, dividing in the base of the petiole, the veins not 
evident on either surface of the lamina, the veinlets intersecting 
about 3.5 cm. apart along the margin, the areolae linear-rhomboid, 
the longitudinal sides about 3.5-4 cm. long, the oblique sides 2.5-3 
cm. long. Soral lines straight, about 1-1.25 mm. from the margin, 
in a shallow open groove. “(PLATE 19.) 
Tyre from Peru: (definite locality not given), Ruiz. 
SPECIMENS EXAMINED. CoLoMBIA: Tablazo, Tulua, I. F. 
Holton 60, 26 O 1853, ‘‘ V. stipitata,’”’ “‘ et in Ibaque”’ (U); Santa 
Marta, H. H. Smith r112 in part (N); Lindig (scrap, U). Ecwua- 
DOR: S. Domingo, Sodiro, “ V. stipitata.””, VENEZUELA: Tovar, 
Moritz 143, 143b (scraps, U); Tovar, Fendler 259, 1854-5, “ V- 
stipitata”’ (E). 
For V. Moritziana, Mettenius cites as type: Canoas, COLOM- 
BIA, Lindig 319; for V. Orbignyana: Yungas, Bo.tvia, d’Orbigny 
229. For V. longipes, Sodiro cites as type-locality: subandine 
woods of western range in the valley of Nanegal, near Anca 
(translated). 
As may be seen from the synonymy this species has been 
recognized as distinct by several writers. The material of it is 
rather scanty, indicating that it must be rare. It furnishes an 
especially good illustration of the habit of writers of describing 
species of Vittaria on very insufficient data. It is possible of 
course that there may be more than one species represented under 
this name, but there are not now sufficient data for such differentia- 
tion, even on the basis of the most careful microscopic study, 
although much less than that was counted sufficient for the 
original descriptions. 
The species is easily distinguishable from V. stipitata on the 
basis of the scales, which are broad, many-costate, and of two sorts. 
